Gomenasai
by SparksAreFlying
Summary: Loose ends are tied up, reasons explained. D/E.


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Mmkay?**

**This is from a dream I had a few night ago where Eric comes home from Africa and Donna reacts... violently. Then I just elaborated on it a little bit.**

**I wish I could dream D/E every night ^_^**

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ERIC'S POV:

I slowly descended the stairs to the basement on Christmas of 1979. I hadn't climbed down these stairs in so long, and I had so many memories of events that happened here. Kelso tripping while running up the stairs, Kelso gluing himself to the doorknob, and... _her._

I still hate myself every waking second (and sometimes in my dreams) for doing that to her. I've been wishing I was dead for months, almost getting there once. What was life without my muse?

Pushing the door open with my bags in arm, I saw none other than Steven Hyde sitting in his chair watching the TV.

"Hey Forman." he said, not taking his eyes off the screen, just as if it were any other day and I hadn't been gone for 7 months.

"Hey Hyde, man." I plopped down on the tattered couch and answered him.

"Folks know you're back yet?"

"Nah. I'm gonna keep it low for a while."

"Ah. I see." he said.

Immensely tired from jet lag and general lack of sleep, I got up to go to my room.

"Alright man, I'm going to bed." I said. Wow, he was antisocial.

"Yeah man, whatever." he said apathetically. Wow, what a warm welcome.

I made my way to the stairs, when suddenly I heard _her._ She was talking with Fez about hair or makeup or something. Since when did she care about those things? Something had changed, I knew it.

When I saw her face, my heart stopped. But she didn't react quite the same way.

"Wha-- what, what, no, no! D-- no! NO!" she crescendoed into a scream

The next thing I knew, her fists were hitting my face, her feet kicking my chest as she screamed incoherently.

"WHY ARE YOU BACK HERE?! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN DRAG YOUR ASS BACK HERE?!" she cried out, hell bent on beating the shit out of me.

"This is my house! I can come back here if I want. Jesus!" I said, trying to block her attacks.

I finally got hold of her and held her still. This took her by surprise, I had never been able to do this before.

DONNA'S POV:

Tears were flying down my face as I took out all my pent up anger and frustration out on this man who had broken my heart yet again. Yeah, I loved him. I always would deep down. But right now I wanted to break all of his bones and show him how much it hurt.

But then, I couldn't. He was holding me taut against him, it was impossible to move. I struggled against him, trying to knock him over with all of my weight and still failing. Why did he have to come back here? We were doing perfectly fine without him.

Ha, _perfectly fine._ We were anything but fine without him, all of us. Kitty was miserable without her little boy, Hyde (deep down) missed his best friend, Fez had been down and not the same ever since Eric left. Jackie's antisocial (but that might have something to do with the fact that Hyde brought home Sam), even Red's not been up to par. But the worst one of all was me. What had I become? Right after Eric broke up with me, I devoted everything to numbing myself. I wanted to feel nothing, and I had achieved it... for a while. I lost contact with the old Donna as she drifted farther and farther away, becoming just a figment of my imagination. I became the new, cruel, superficial Donna. But I still couldn't get rid of the sharp ache in my chest that was caused by _him._

I collapsed from trying to fight him, and fell down to the ground. He followed me down, not removing his restraint from me.

I started crying as I rolled up into a ball on the floor. I didn't want to look up at his eyes, his face now probably bruising. He didn't make a sound during it all.

I felt his warm, familiar hand sweep my bangs from my face and tuck them behind my ear, then wipe the tears from my face. _Oh, Eric, if you only knew..._ I thought. "Stop it!" I screamed. "Don't touch me!"

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ERIC'S POV:

I hated to see her like this. It was all my fault. But if I hadn't broke up with her, there was a chance she'd be miserable for the rest of her life.

"Donna. I wasn't sure I'd be coming home, ever."

"You shouldn't have!" she cried.

"No, I mean I might have died."

She was quiet. For the first time, she lifted her head and looked me in the eyes.

"I wanted you to hate me. I wanted you to hate me so it wouldn't hurt you as badly if I were to die."

We were quiet for a long time, and somehow she was transferred into my arms.

"Eric I could never hate you. "

I closed my eyes and breathed in her smell.

"The terrorism is horrible over there. I risked my life every day. But thinking of you helped me through." I said.

"Eric..." she sighed. She began to cry all over again. "I'm so sorry..." she repeated over and over.

"I'm sorry..." I said, stroking her back.

"I forgive you." we said at the same time. I rolled her over and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Eric?" she asked.

"Yes baby?" I responded.

"Merry Christmas." she said, leaning over to kiss me for the first time in an eternity.


End file.
